


Come on it's time to go

by dreamsnroses



Category: Blood Drips on Newsies Square (1991), Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23557486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamsnroses/pseuds/dreamsnroses
Summary: When I was a child I had a feverMy hands felt just like two balloonsNow I've got that feeling once againI can't explain you would not understandThis is not how I amI have become comfortably numb- Comfortably Numb, Pink FloydsSean Conlon spent years trying to escape the horrors of his childhood, until he discovered what he believes is the factor of all his pain. When he arrives at Pulitzer College, all he cares about is to find him. But what will happen when he realizes that, for the first time in his life, he isn’t alone anymore ? Will he turn on the first people who ever cared for him ? How will Sean deal with his demons when he can’t numb his feelings anymore ? Sean Conlon was never known for being a sensitive guy, but then again, he never quite was what was expected of him.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Kid Blink/Mush Meyers, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Comments: 20
Kudos: 13





	1. Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone

**Chapter 1 : Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone**

_I don't need you to worry for me 'cause I'm alright_

_I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home_

_I don't care what you say anymore this is my life_

_Go ahead with your own life leave me alone_

_\- My life, Billy Joel_

502, 503, 504, ha ! 505. Well it’s about time, Sean thought while kicking the door open with his foot, a travel bag in each hand. He was completely out of breath after climbing all those stairs, and it reminded him that he really should calm down on the smokes. He scanned the room quickly, which was an average size for a college dorm : two bunk beds with desks underneath, two closets and a small window. He noticed the bags on one of the beds, and deducted his roommate must’ve already arrived - he had claimed the window-side of the room, _fucker_. The dark-haired boy put his bags in his closet, and started unpacking - not that it would take him long, he didn’t own many clothes. 

Few moments after his arrival, a blonde boy burst into the room carrying a box. He had a wide mouth, Sean noticed, and he was smiling, too. He looked absolutely _radiant_ , and he couldn’t repress his snort. Which catched the boy’s attention, as he apparently hadn’t seen him until now. Now that he had turned around, Sean could get a good look at his face, and he noticed that he was wearing an eye-patch on his right-eye. He gave the blonde, who was looking positively _flamboyant_ , the once over. Come _on_ , he internally muttered, he was just making this _too_ fucking easy, it wasn’t even funny. What was it that he was wearing ? A fucking baseball cap – backward of course – and leather pants. _Leather pants, for god’s sake_. But he had to hand it to him, he kinda made it work somehow.

The boy – apparently his roommate – cleared his throat, and held out his hand for Sean to shake, only to receive a glare. The kid didn’t flinch, instead giving him an easy smile and clapping his hands together. _Ha, confirmation. Definitely gay_ , Sean sneered.

“Uh, hi. I’m Blink, you must be Sean Colon, right?”

“It’s _Co_ ** _n_** _lon_ you asshole”

“... Ooookay, sorry I guess. Uh, I took the bed next to the window but, uh, we can trade ? If you want, I guess ?”

“Yeah, the stuttering thing? Annoying.”

Blink seemed taken aback by the coldness of the boy. The condescending glare hurt his feelings - not that he would ever admit it - but mostly… his roommate looked cool. So he swallowed hard, and laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “Wow ok, little miss sunshine, sorry”. 

“Fuck off, we don’t have to be friends”. Sean glared at the boy, making it clear that the conversation was over. To his surprise, this Blink kid laughed good-naturedly again and not 30 seconds later, he was talking again.

“So what’s your major ?”

“Political sciences”

“Oh, that’s cool, I’m a history major. I have a friend who’s also a political --”

“I didn’t ask...” 

To that, Blink sighed. Sean didn’t really comprehend why he was trying to befriend him, because he sure wasn’t going to be civil or put up a nice front. Sean Conlon didn’t do _nice_. That’s not why he was there, and he didn’t need distractions. 

Blink’s phone started ringing, and after a brief conversation, he turned towards the other boy’s direction. 

“Er - Sean ? My friends and I are meeting up outside in 5 minutes, do you wanna come with or something ? You could meet them.. and uh.. and Dave too ! He’s the one who has the same major as you, so ?” 

He was trying to be nice, but winced slightly when Sean turned to glare at him, which didn’t go unnoticed. _Well fuck him gently with a chainsaw. He was trying to be nice, he really was ! What did this guy have ? Behavioral disorders ?_ He did look quite scary despite being so scrawny. _It’s the eyes_ , Blink thought, enormous blue-grey eyes that looked like they could pierce your skull in two. Well maybe the glare couldn’t, but Sean probably would, at least from what he had seen of him.

“...Yet despite the look on my face, you’re still babbling.” ? 

“Suit yourself then, if you change your mind, here’s my number” he said while throwing a piece of paper at him. The blonde boy was out the door before Sean could even retort. This was going to be long, extremely long.

⁂

David Jacobs couldn’t help but feel relieved when his mom parked in front of the main building. He loved his family, he really did, but one _complete_ summer with his parents and siblings, questioning him about his friends, when he would _eventually_ start dating or everything he didn’t want to talk to them about, made him realize just how much he missed his friends. He was relieved that they all had gotten into the same college, because although he wasn’t exactly shy, socializing wasn’t his strong point. He was also excited about starting college, he had always loved learning and looked forward to a more independent life. David was convinced this year was to be a great one, and he never was an optimist guy. He quickly kissed his mother’s cheek, which was dampened by tears - _god, really ?_ he thought, not sure if he should roll his eyes or feel bad, and jumped out of the car. 

With a spring to his step, he rushed to the entrance and was immediately met by a pair of two strong arms squeezing him. Dave would’ve been startled if it wasn’t for the familiar laugh that filled the room. Reunited with his best friend, David eased into the embrace and then pulled back to greet him. In 2 months, Jack’s light brown hair had grown enough that it would reach his eyes, if it wasn’t for the usual red bandana he was sporting. On anyone, it would look ridiculous, but on him it worked. Jack was unconventionally handsome - from a completely neutral point of view, of _course_. His chiseled bone structure was softened by his warm smile. Jack’s charms got him to be loved by everyone, but it was also due to his laid back personality. He had a sharp sense of humour, and a strong sense of loyalty and camaraderie. 

Jack was David’s best friend since they met in elementary school and since then, their ways had never parted : they were Jack-and-David, in one breath, always by each other’s side. Actually, this summer had been the first and longest time they had ever been separated, and it was only because Jack had gotten a summer job in some kids’ camp in Santa Fe as he needed some money to pay for college expenses. The two boys talked for a while, catching up on the little details that hadn’t been exchanged on the phone on the events of the summer break. 

Few moments later, Davey was welcomed in a familiar fashion by two blonde boys, Dutchy and Blink. The four of them had been friends since they were 10 and it was obvious to all of them that they weren’t ready to be separated, even after they graduated high school. 

“Guys, met your roommates yet ?” Jack asked curiously. He and Davey had asked to be paired together, and, with some insistence, their request had been accepted. It was a huge relief for David, who not only was a cleaning freak, but who also had his fair share of quirks that no roommate, save for Jack, would have ever tolerated. He also really wanted to stay with his best friend, but it was completely normal, _right_ ?

“Don’t ask” the taller one groaned. 

“What’s that supposed to mean ?” 

“That he’s fucking rude. I wasn’t even in the room yet and he was already glaring. I bet he’s glaring at the wall now that I left.” 

“Don’t judge so fast”, David interfered, “maybe he’ll warm up to you and he’s just … awkward ? I don’t know --” 

“Um, awkward? Yeah, you haven’t met the guy. He’s a jerk. It _sucks_.”

“Moan and groan then, Blinkee” Dutchy mocked, earning a punch in the arm from the boy, then he turned to Jack, “I haven’t met mine yet, he hadn’t arrived when I got there”.

They continued making small talk while showing David around the buildings they had already seen, and helping him get his stuff to their dorm.

⁂

After some hours spent helping Dave unpack, arguing and animatedly discussing (mocking, really) David’s musical taste, the boys decided to check out the places to eat around campus. 

“I just gotta go get my jacket and wallet” Blink informed “You guys can go and I’ll catch up”. 

He hurried to his dorm, suddenly remembering the existence of his roommate. He hadn’t even looked up from the book he was reading when Blink had entered, and didn’t acknowledge his presence. The blonde really wanted to hate him, but he seemed _so cool_. Sean looked like a rock star with his long dark hair and his big eyes. He was extremely skinny, too, and his clothes hung off from his frame, but in a cool way too. 

“Close your mouth and stop drooling, you’re wetting the floor, and we wouldn’t want that.” Sean smirked. Blink was blushing, he’d been caught staring. 

“Shut up, you’re so not my type”, Blind answered in a very petulant way. Sean just snorted at this, but kept the information in mind. He had a habit of remembering absolutely everything anyone told him, mostly because it could always come in handy when he needed to intimidate them. 

A knock on the door gave the excuse to Blink to remove himself from this very awkward interaction, and he glanced to see Dutchy standing in the doorway, mouthing him to invite his roommate. 

“Oh, um, Sean?” the boy still didn’t look up from his book, and Blink couldn’t repress his eye roll. 

“AHEM, Sean ? Listen, my friends and I are going out to eat, do you want to come with or are you too busy ?”

“Fuck off, blondie.”

Blink sighed and turned to his friend again. He was certain he’d made a point of showing just how _annoying_ Sean was, and was really pissed off when he realized Dutchy blamed him for not being persistent enough instead. “Shut it Balashvilii” he said, and his friend punched him (“Ow Dutchy, that hurt!”). 

To the mention of Dutchy’s last name, Sean tensed. Balashvilii ?

Odd name. Very odd.

It sounded awfully familiar, didn’t it ? Fuck him, he could be one of the boys. He waited for the two to be out of the hallway to rush to his bottom drawer. He found the small binder hidden there, and took out one of the papers. Balashvillii, Ivan. 19 years old, same age as him, and same age as… Yeah, he could be linked to him. And what had he called him ? Dutchy ? As in some European language ? Balashvilii, that had to be Russian, no ? Or maybe Georgian ? It was close enough to Europe…. So... 

Fuck, that was _too_ fucking easy. He’d just have to follow Blink to find their other friends and then he could just…

Just find him. 

⁂

Dutchy was exhausted, it had been a long day. First, he had to deal with his mom’s speech when he left, blaming him for abandoning her _just like your father did_. When he had finally managed to get out of the house, he had missed his bus and he was in a bad mood. Upon his arrival near campus, he had called his friends but none of them were there yet, which didn’t help in bringing his spirits up and he eventually got lost in the halls. Finally, he had found his dorm, which was empty at the moment, and decided not to unpack since his roommate wasn’t here to choose his side of the room. 

But then Blink had gotten there, and Jack too and they were gossipping about the events of the summer like middle graders ; and David had showed up in his dress shirt looking like a middle aged English teacher and everything was fine again. They had joked around, helped Jack and Dave settle in their dorm, made fun of Blink and went out to eat burgers and shakes in a place near campus. So it wasn’t _such_ a bad day. He was yet to meet his roommate though, and he was both excited and anxious - given Blink’s experience earlier that day. 

After making a right turn and climbing the rest of the stairs, he got to his door and let himself in the room. Which was _completely_ covered in Broadway posters. Covered. Posters were plastered on every inch of the walls. Dutchy gaped, dumbfounded, as he observed the room. He was still in the same state as a cheerful boy rushed inside the room. 

“Oh my god, hi ! I’m Mush, well Michael, but call me Mush !”

“Eeeerr- hi ? Hey ! I’m Dutchy, nice to meet you. Um, so I take it you like musicals ?” he shrugged, looking around once again. 

The boy, who hadn’t picked up on his awkwardness, beamed at him. And then he continued in a fast rant on some obscure interpretation of his favorite song - Carrying the Banner, apparently -, the awesomeness of Kenny Ortega for his choreographies in Newsies, or some other fact that Dutchy couldn’t quite make out. Mush who had stopped talking for technical reasons - getting air, really - then asked him if he minded the decoration. 

“No, no it’s… unique. I like it” the blonde mumbled, still troubled by this intense interaction. “You’re a theater major too, right?”, he added smiling. The boy sounded high, so what ? It’s not like Dutchy had something against drugs… But that was another story. 

“Yeah ! Oh, it’s so great that we’re roommates ! So we already know someone in our classes ! It’s just working out _perfectly_ , isn’t it?” the bronze-skinned young man exclaimed excitedly. 

Well at least, he was nice and welcoming. It really _wasn’t_ such a bad day, Dutchy reflected. Well that was until Mush started going again on his rants. 

⁂

Sean was a light sleeper, the quietest noise waking him up instantly. He also had a terrible sleeping pattern, falling asleep not without difficulties and waking up at dawn. Tonight was no different, especially with so much to think about. Two states away from where he lived for the past 2 years, very much on his own, Sean wasn’t scared, no, Sean Conlon _never_ was. But he was a bit shaken.

It was no coincidence if he ended up applying to Pulitzer College : Sean was an incredibly bright boy, and he knew it, but it had nothing to do with academic regards. But what if he didn’t succeed in finding him ?

For the past year he had done everything he could to find information on that boy, going as far as tracking him down in his high school to find out where he was going to go to college, just so that he could get closer to him. 

For the past year, all his thoughts had been occupied by wonders of how his life could’ve been, how _he_ could’ve been if this guy hadn’t existed. 

For the past year, many memories of his childhood had come back to the boy’s mind, so many things that he thought that he had forgotten, blocked from his mind.

For the past year, all Sean did was motivated by one thing : finding Francis Sullivan.

And he had never been as close to finding him. 

  
  



	2. Me and only me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a while ! :) I'm sorry for going AWOL but college was keeping me busy. Anyways, here's a new chapter and with it the introduction of my fav ship ever BLUSH. Incessant pinning to come in next chapters, don't worry :) 
> 
> Hope whoever reads will enjoy !!

**Chapter 2 : Me and only me**

_Well I'm finding it harder_

_To be a gentleman every day_

_All the manners that I've been taught_

_Have slowly died away_

_\- The White Stripes_

Sean had murder intentions. Numerous times during the night, he had planned to strangle his roommate in his sleep - he was a disgusting sleeper. Not only did Blink snore soundly, but he also drooled and talked in his sleep. Now, Sean never slept more than a few hours a night, but he hadn’t even closed one eye and he had an 8 am class. He was in a bad mood, and he would just have to take it out on people, that was just _so sad_. 

As the morning chill was piercing through the hole in his jacket pocket, Sean hurried to his political science class. On his way, he tried to gather the information he already had to identify Francis : from his investigations, the person he was looking for was a dude his age, who was raised in Manhattan. Francis Sullivan met his three best friends - including this Ivan Balashvilii - when he was 10 or so, and then they stuck together, even after they graduated. Sadly no one matched the name, but he _had_ applied to this college and got in - Spot knew that for a fact - and he also _was_ a friend of Blink and Dutchy. He’d just have to try harder and find out… 

He was snapped out of his thought when he arrived in the building and made his way up the stairs. Arriving in the room, he took an empty seat in the back, so that he could keep watching the other students without being noticed. Not 5 minutes in the class that they already had to work in pairs. Sean hated group projects - he was way too smart to let someone command his work and try to change his ideas, and too lazy to carry a whole project on his own. He also despised social interactions and more generally, anyone who attempted to talk to him. The world clearly tried to redeem itself after that terrible night since he was paired with no other than David Jacobs. _Perfect, just have to get information out of the kid now, make small talk and get what I want_ , he smiled internally. Sean was a master of mind-games and manipulation was his favorite hobby. He was surprised about how easy it all had been to him for now : first getting in the same room as Blink, now paired with David… who could be his Francis. 

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder which made him jump to his feet and pin the lunatic who had dared to touch him down. 

“Don’t fucking touch me, you wanna die ?” he snarled, anger rolling off of him. An extremely distraught Dave jumped away from him, trying to regain his composure and taking deep breaths. 

“I’m sorry, I-- what the hell is wrong with you? I’m sorry I disturbed you, God, I’m sorry but you gotta calm down. I’m your partner for the project, I’m, uh, David. David Jacobs”. 

“I don’t give a shit about who you are, keep your hands to yourself”

David had never in his life felt so embarrassed. He was also legitimately scared for his life. This boy had the most intimidating and menacing scowl ever, which compensated for his 5 feet 2 of height... 

“I’m really sorry--”

“Yeah we’ve established that already. Are you just gonna babble or are you actually here for something ?” Sean sincerely wanted to laugh now, the boy looked like a deer caught in headlights and was barely breathing. His big blue eyes were wide open although he wasn’t looking at Sean. Blue eyes. Almost like his. Could just be a coincidence though. 

“About the project. How do you want to do this ?”

“As quickly as possible, and as individually, too”. 

“It’s a group presentation. Let’s meet in 2 hours outside of the building to work. Is it ok with you ?”

“Whatever”

“Ok so I’ll see you later Sean” and with the rest of dignity that he had, David quickly exited the room. 

⁂

The sun was blinding Sean’s view as he looked up from his paper. David had somehow convinced him to work outside since it was so sunny - much to his discontentment. But he did get some information out of him, so working in his sense might not be a bad idea. David had indeed been raised in Manhattan. He also was Jewish but Sean didn’t know what to think about it : he didn’t know how Francis had been raised, so he could possibly be religious. Although it seemed unlikely given Sean’s father’s frequentations. But the blue eyes were doing the trick for now, as it was a common feature in Sean’s family.

After a few hours of limited interactions and quiet progress in their project, the boys were snapped out of their work when Sean’s roommate and another boy crawled on the grass next to them. 

“The fuck do you want now, are you stalking me or what ?” the dark-haired boy hissed to Blink

“You know I’m a friend of Dave, we saw him and decided to drop by!” he said looking indignant. “Besides the lawn is public”. _Real good comeback here Blink, he’s so going to respect you now,_ he thought to himself. As expected, Sean only flipped him off, and went back to his notebook. 

“So Jack what’s up ?” David asked, trying to focus the discussion on something else. 

“Nothing much Dave, nothing really. Oh yeah, Dutchy’s on his way, he wants to introduce his friend”

“That’s cool” he nodded, and then turned to his work partner “maybe we can wrap it up for today, what do you think ?”

“Whatever, I’m done with my part anyways. I’m leaving, keep the dumb blonde with you, he won’t be missed”. And with that, Sean took off, jostling Dutchy who happened to be on his way to meet his friends.

“Wow, intense” Jack laughed, nudging Blink who was mopping again. But then, was it really Blinkee if he wasn’t sulking ? He always had been overly sensitive and over dramatic, taking things right to the heart, even when they weren’t directed to him.

Dutchy, just recovered from his fall - which had fucking hurted him, scrawny idiot - walked to his friends, Mush in tow. He greeted them quickly before introducing them to the cheerful boy and Jack immediately started a conversation with him, trying to make him feel welcomed. Mush then turned to David who asked a few questions politely. Finally, Dutchy pointed to his last friend, a tall blonde kid who wore an eye patch. He felt himself blush and muttered a quick hello before extending his hand… which remained in the air for a solid 30 seconds...

Blink’s breath caught up in his throat, and the rest of the world faded. Ok, maybe that was a _bit_ dramatic. But not really. He had had to be sent to heaven, because one true angel was standing in front of him. His bronze skin glowed in the sun and curls framed the delicate features of his face. He was breathtaking, literally. Blink was so absorbed in this stranger’s warm brown eyes that he hadn’t noticed that everyone was looking expectantly at him until David elbowed him unceremoniously, that is. 

“What ?”

“Snap out of it, Blinkee.” he mumbled 

He then noticed the confused look of Mush and literally jumped on him to grab his hand back and shake it. The three other boys, getting the hint, removed themselves from the awkward encounter, not before inviting Mush to dinner later in the evening so that they could get to know him better. 

  
  


⁂

Michael Powell could’ve come straight out of a movie, although not from a cool glamorous Hollywood one, but more so in an awful horror flick of the 70s. Michael hated horror movies, in fact he was terrified of these - hence the nickname Skittery he earned when he was 7 and had watched _Don’t be afraid of the dark_ to impress his friends. In that way, Skitt embodied everything he hated. Everything about him was dramatic, from his stance, to the look in his eyes when he looked at himself in the mirror - with such self-hatred that his face was transfigured into a grimacing mess. He was a beautiful boy, with long curly locks framing his pale face. He both loathed and loved the way his clothes hung from his frame so much he could put 3 other bodies in them, because it gave him a depressed tortured artist-like style. 

Skittery was a world of contradiction. He was arrogant and shy at the same time, pretentious and insecure, egoistical and generous. If you asked him, his self-worth probably equalled zero. Though it didn’t stop him from considering himself better than the rest of his peers, even when he was a kid. Because if he was going to hate himself, he sure was going to hate the rest of the world too. 

He always tried to look nonchalant, but everything in his demeanour showed how hard he was trying to be the centre of attention. He hated it, being looked at, scrutinised, but at the same time it made him feel validated, whatever the reason it was that he was talked about or talked to. Skitts never cared what people thought of him, he just needed their acknowledgment. 

But Skittery was many, many great things. Among these, he was an attentive listener, always offering an ear without ever expecting anything in return. He was loyal and even brave sometimes. Most importantly, he was a good friend. He and Mush had met in highschool, and had gone through difficult times together : Skitts had been there when his bestfriend came out as gay in freshman year, and had always stood up for him, defended him when some jerk was giving him a hard time for it, in the very same fashion that Mush had been there for his bestfriend for each anniversary of his mom’s death. There through thick and thin, they always had each other’s back. 

Their personalities clashed. While Mush had a happy-go-lucky-looking-on-the-bright-side-of-things kind of attitude, Skittery was convinced that he was cursed, mostly because he had broken a mirror 6 years and 10 months ago - he kept track of it - which left him with 2 more months of misery. He was incredibly superstitious. And gloomy, and glum, and pessimistic - overall a difficult person to live with. 

Which was why Dutchy was so surprised when he met his cheerful, optimistic roommate’s bestfriend. He hadn’t realized he was staring until Mush cleared his throat loudly. The blonde boy extended his hand to shake Skittery’s who simply laughed and pulled him into a quick hug. When Mush started talking again, Dutchy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“I met Dutchy’s friends this afternoon ! We decided to go eat out tonight you should come Skitts, I’m sure you’ll like them. Anyways you need to start socializing, too.”

“Yeah sure _Mother_ ” he glanced at Dutchy who still hadn’t said a word and added in all his self-conscious glory “I mean, I wouldn’t want to impose or anything, are you sure ? ”. 

“No! I mean, no you won’t impose, but, uh, yes come! Please come. If you want” Dutchy wanted to jump out the window, or for the floor to open and swallow him. He sounded so fucking stupid, god damn it. Why was he stuttering ? And why the fuck was he blushing ? He could feel his ears turn pink and his throat was suddenly dry. 

“Perfect!” Mush exclaimed quickly, ending the exchange as he sensed his roommate’s discomfort. Skittery seemed oblivious to the whole thing and started making small talk with Dutchy, who was making a fool of himself, and felt extremely pathetic. _Whether to kill yourself or not is one of the most important decisions a teenager can make_ , he mused. 

⁂

When Blink had asked Sean if he wanted to come to dinner with his friends, he hadn’t expected him to say yes. He did blow David off a few hours before. And every interaction the roommates had had over the past few days had been confrontational - to say the least - and their last fight had occurred not 30 minutes ago when Sean proposed to stick needles in his eyes ( _more like your eye_ , the dark haired boy had corrected with a smirk, which infuriated Blink to no end of course). 

What he couldn’t possibly know was that Sean needed to get as close to the group as he could. He was starting to connect the dots and was convinced that he’d find Francis Sullivan within a few days. 

So they both walked wordlessly side to side until they arrived at the dinner. It was fairly close to campus hence the dozens of college students piled up in the booths. The place was busy and noisy, making it difficult for Blink to spot his friends until Jack’s voice echoed in his ears calling him. When he walked up to the table, Sean was not too surprised to discover that everyone was staring at him. Not bothered slightly, he remained in his usual cool stance, an eyebrow raised. 

“I’m not sure we were properly introduced” Jack coughed “I’m Jack. You already know Dave”. 

“As for Dutchy, you saw him earlier I believe” David added, sarcasm evident in his voice. Sean didn’t say anything and took a seat next to Jack, who he decided, looked oddly familiar. 

The three old friends started ordering drinks and babbling about things Sean couldn’t really understand, private jokes and so on. But he didn’t care for any of the bullshit they had to say, and he was too busy observing Jack to say something rude. He had an undeniable charisma and seemed like an open dude, trying to include everyone - except Sean, he had given up - in the conversation and laughed to every joke. Even Blink’s, who had no sense of humour at all - in a much similar fashion that he didn’t have any filters and was pretty much an open book. 

David was not oblivious to the attention Sean was giving Jack, and for some reason, he had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He tried not to think anything of it : what was he ? jealous ? No way, he and Jack were friends. Best friends. Close friends. _Like brothers_ , as Jack often said. That didn’t make him too happy, though… He was snapped out of his train of thoughts when Dutchy arrived, Mush and two other boys behind him. 

“Guys, this is Skittery” explained Dutchy pointing to a curly haired boy “He’s Mush’s bestfriend. Sociology major”. Said boy smiled shyly when the friends greeted him, and quickly hid his face behind his hair. 

“And this is another of my friend, Tony Higgins” Mush chimed in, pointing to a very italian looking kid, who would look confident and intimidating. If he wasn’t 5 feet of height. He looked around the table, pushed Sean and sat next to him. They all held their breaths, mentally preparing themselves for the boy’s funeral. But to everyone’s dismay, nothing happened, Sean simply raised an eyebrow. _Well that is a surprising evening_ , Blinked mused. _Very odd, indeed._

Hours of small talk later, Sean couldn’t shake the impression that Jack was Francis, but he also now had more direct matters to take care of. Said preoccupations being sorting Higgins out, because he looked _very_ interesting. And handsome. Proud, macho and snobbish, also. Which amused Sean, because that meant he could easily make him uncomfortable. And what better way to find out if a guy’s gay than by asking him if he had a boyfriend, you may ask ? That had earned the table a very long and obnoxious rant from Tony, to secure his masculinity and heterosexuality of course (“Sure you are, straight _as an arrow_ ”, Sean had mocked, the irony not lost on the italian) and only confirmed Sean’s thoughts on the matter. 

As a slightly drunk Dutchy embarked on the long story of a childhood memory, he spoke of an event that made Sean shiver. They all had been friends since diapers, save for Jack, who had been adopted when he was 7 years old. _Right, Francis_ , he even added which earned him a shove from the tall boy. Sean felt sick to his stomach, yet he was sort of relieved to have found him. Because if Jack was Francis Sullivan, it meant that he was Sean’s half-brother. Namely, who Sean considered to be the catalyst of all the hardships he had survived. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback would be greatly appreciated and critics too! I'm well aware my writing isn't great  
> Thank you so much for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic ever so reviews, critics and comments are very greatly appreciated !!  
> I hope you like it :)


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